Full year travel card

A card for the full academic year costs £400. There is no administration fee for applying for the pass and you will need to make the payment directly KCC. You must complete our application; making payment to your child's learning provider will not submit an application for the scheme.

Part year travel cards

You can buy travel cards to cover all or part of the academic year. The cost is based on when we receive the application:

16+ pass type

Duration

Cost

First half year pass

1 September 2018 to 1 March 2019

£200

Second half year pass

25 February 2019 to 31 August 2019

£200

Full year pass

1 September to 2018 to 31 August 2019

£400

Getting help with the cost

Speak to your school, college or employer to ask for help towards the cost if:

your household income is between £16,191 and £20,817 a year - you should pay between £200 and £400

your household income is less than £16,191 a year (the same as our free school meals criteria) - you should pay no more than £200

you are an employed 16 to 19 year old apprentice who can demonstrate hardship caused by travel pressures - you should pay between £200 and £400.

If you've received the full vulnerable learner bursary payment or your household income is more than £20,818 you'll pay £400.

Refunds for returned cards

If you leave your education or training or don't need your card for any other reason, we'll refund you part of the cost paid for the pass based on the terms where it has been used. You'll have to pay a £10 administration fee.

We'll send your travel card to your school, college or employer within 28 working days of receiving your application. If you applied by 13 July 2018, your travel card will be ready for the first day of term in September.

We have agreed with bus operators that for the first few days of the academic year (week commencing 3 September 2018), students who have applied on time and need to collect their new pass from school or college should be allowed to travel free of charge. If they have it, your child should carry their old pass, but anyone who would qualify for the scheme should be allowed to travel without any proof of payment or eligibility.

Once your application has been processed, you will receive an email or letter as confirmation. You no longer need to present a letter in order to travel and we are therefore not providing them.

Travel outside Kent

Outside of Kent: you can use your pass to travel to counties bordering Kent as long as the journey starts or ends in Kent. You can't use it on London buses.

Medway: you can use your pass as long as your journey starts or ends within the Kent County Council administrative area, but you cannot use your pass to make journeys from one Medway point to another Medway point.

If you experience any problems with the bus service that you are using, you should contact the bus operator. If this doesn't resolve the issue, you can email the 16+ Travel Card Team at kent16plustravelcard@kent.gov.uk.

Behaviour of card holders

You are expected to follow the code of conduct at all times and the bus company's conditions of carriage.

If you don't your pass may be taken away or you may even be banned from travelling on certain buses.

Lost, stolen or damaged passes

To get a replacement pass please call us on 03000 41 84 84 with your child's name, address and school. You will need a debit or credit card.

Cost: £10 per replacement

Pay: by debit or credit card if you call us or send a cheque or postal order with your child's name, address and school (made payable to Kent County Council) to Kent 16+ Travel Card (Replacement), Kent County Council, Public Transport, PO Box 441, Aylesford, Kent ME6 9HJ.

You can have 3 replacement passes per school year.

Temporary passes

We'll send a temporary pass to your home for your child to show the driver whilst you're waiting for your replacement. We usually do this within 10 working days of receiving payment.

We'll send the replacement pass to the school before the temporary one runs out.